Reinforced paper strap and bag containing same



Oct. 16, 1956 K. STEEN 2,766,925

REINFORCED PAPERSTRAP AND BAG CONTAINING SAME- F'iled June 29, 1951 3Sheets-Sheet i I Zmnentor HA EFOEO K JTEE/V.

)J i 4 BB /4 agyar luv? ttornegj Oct. 16, 1956 H. K. SDTEEN 5 REINFORCEDPAPER STRAP VAND BAG CGNTAINING SAME Filed June 29; 1951 s Sheets- Sheets I 1: 3 fine/ 090 A. JZEEM 31; T Maw, We

Gttorne' United States Patent REINFORCED PAPER STRAP AND BAG CONTAININGSAME Application June 29, 1951, Serial No. 234,320 4 Claims. (Cl.229-52) My present invention relates to reinforced paper straps andmethods of making same.

It is an object of my invention to provide a strap formed of alongitudinally folded paper strip characterized by high tensile strengthin relation to that of the paper strip started with, ease ofmanufacture, and great crosswise flexibility, all without the use ofadhesives of any kind. A preferred embodiment of my improved inventionis characterized by being formed of a unitary paper strip longitudinallyfolded into two or more plies and having longitudinal 180 folds ateither edge, such folds being on the same side of the strip but leavinga substantial space between their edges, thus creating a centrallongitudinal web of unreinforced material. This, in the case of baghandles, will readily undergo deformation to conform to the contour ofthe hand and render easier the carrying of a loaded bag. Such strap,moreover, is of usefulness in other fields of application, as will beapparent to those skilled in the art.

A still further object is to provide a strap which shall have additionalreinforcement at the edges by having what may be termed an edge curl.Such a curl has a great resistance to a tearing force more or lesstransverse of the axis of the curl. The curl preferably is an incipientone, developing more fully when the strap is grasped in the hand.Thereby the curl will not interfere with the operation of attac g theends of the strap to the bag, for example by pasting. Alternatively thecurl may be made a full 180 and the strap formed wide enough so as toprovide sufficient room for the paste.

My invention also resides in the combination of the straps according tothe foregoing and a paper bag in which the strap material serves as ahandle, adhesively secured to the bag with the adhesive applied to theopen face of the strap.

My invention will be best understood by reference to the followingdetailed description taken with the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a strip of paper in the process of being folded toproduce a strap constituting one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken along line 3-3 of Fig. l and showsthe completed strap in cross section;

Fig. 4 shows the strap as applied to a bag to constitute the handlethereof;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing in part the formation of afurther embodiment;

Fig. 6 is a continuation of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section on line 77 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Figures 1 and 5 showing in part theformation of a strap constituting a still further embodiment of myinvention;

Fig. 9 is a continuation of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section on line 10-10 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged section on line 11-11 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 1212 of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 13 is an enlarged view in section on line 13-13 of Fig. 9.

In Figure 1, the web 10, preferably of thin, tough paper, passes througha folder 11 of conventional type having an outer curved folding element11a which c0- operates with a flat core plate 11b. Thereby a U-fold, asshown in Fig. 2, is produced about a longitudinal median axis 12 of Fig.l. Thereafter the folded sheet passes through folders 13, 13 similar inoperation to folder 11 and such as to fold the edges of the already oncefolded strip 180 so as to assume the configuration shown in crosssection in Fig. 3 in which the 180 folds 14, 14 are on the same side ofthe strap and leaving a central longitudinal unreinforced web 15. Thefolds 14 are ironed down by pressure rollers 14a and 14b as indicated inFigs. 1 and 3.

Reference to Fig. 4 shows the application of our improved strap to forma handle 16 of a bag 17 by adhesively securing the ends of the strap tothe side portions of the bag as shown.

It will be seen that while the reinforced edges denoted by the foldsimpart greatly increased tensile strength to the strip, the web portion15 enables the strip to undergo deformation in the region which isgrasped. In being thus deformed, the reinforcing edge portions 15, 15readily move toward one another. When, as illustrated, the smooth sideof the handle 16 is disposed so as to face downward, a smoothcomfortable grip is provided. It will also be noted that by virtue ofthe fact that the strip is formed from a single sheet or web of paper,there can be no relative longitudinal movement between the folds.

The width of the unreinforced web 15 may be varied as desired. For mostpurposes, it will be found satisfactory to make the folds 14 ofapproximately equal width and so as to leave the central web portion 15of about the same width as the folds 14.

A further modification is illustrated in Figures 5, 6 and 7 wherein thestrap of the configuration of Fig. 3 is given an edge curl in the samedirection as the previous edge folds. In Fig. 5 the web 10 has beenformed by means of the folding elements 11, 11a, 11b, and 11c into astrap of the cross-section of a flattened C, the same as in Fig. 1.However, as the thus-folded strip issues from the folder element 11c, itis preferably prepared for the formation of an edge curl by means ofsteam sprays from edge moistener nozzles 20, 20'. Thereafter said stripis passed into the edge curler 21 consisting of blade 22 and curvedformers 23, 23'. The curl having been thus formed, the strip is passedthrough a drier 24.

In this manner the strip is formed substantially as shown incross-section in Fig. 7 in which the longitudinal edges have a curl 25at either edge. The properties of the curl 25 are such that when theinside edge of the strap is pasted against the bag side, for example,the curl 25 flattens out, thus facilitating the pasting operation,whereas when the strap thus constituting the bag handle is grasped, thecurl is accentuated, thus forming a substantial edge reinforcement andone that is particularly resistant to tear.

A further modification is illustrated in Figs. 8, 9, l0, ll, 12 and 13.In this modification the strap, instead of being edge curled, has formedtherein a further edge fold in the same direction as the previous folds.Fig. 8 shows the folding elements of Figs. 1 and 5 but with the additionpreferably of scoring rolls 30, 30', producing score lines 31, 31'. Thefolded and scored strip now passes through a further former 32,consisting of a former blade 33 and curved former elements edges a, b(Fig; 11) of the ship as first folded by means er folder 11 maybe ofvarying distancesfroaione another and reliance had upon the reinforcededges to col lapse the l'on'gitudihal median area of the strap whengrasped by the hand. To facilitate this the strap may undergo a creasingaction at the mid-point, as denoted by. 0, Figs 12 and 13.

p I b b This creas'e may be applied by having a ridge 36 in lower roller35' which cooperates with groove 37 in roller 35 to givethe strap acentral longitudinal crease such as to facilitate longitudinal foldingor deformationof the 'strap'when grasped by the hand beneath the closedface of the strap. This crease if desired may be imparted to the'form ofstrap shown in Figs. 3 and 7. V 7

If desired,-thestrap shown in Figs; 7 and 12 may" be formed with-asingle ply only, and reliance had upon the great strength developed bythe edge reinforcements. Other modifications will occur to those skilledin the art within the spirit of my invention. It will be understood thatthe strap according to Figs. 7 and 12 will be applied as bag handles thesame as the strap of Fig. 3, and the bag thus formed will have theappearance substantially of Figure 4.

I claim: 7 b a 1. A paper strap consisting of a continuous flat stripcomposed of relatively thin tough paper, edge folded to form a strapwhich in cross-section. is of the shape of a flattened G, the edgeportions being further reinforced.

by having a Eilifl in the iii'i'e'tiofi of the opening of the C',

said curl opening outwardly to enable the strap to be pasted with thecurl flattened outwhein the paste is applied to the open side of the C,said curl becoming accentuated when the non-open side is gripped withthe hand. i

2. The strap according to claim 1, having a central longitudinal creasefacilitating deformation of the strap when grasped by the hand.

3. In combination the strap according to claimr l and a paper bag towhich a length of said strap is adhesively secured as a handle with theadhesive applied to the open uncurled face of the strap.

4. The strap according to claim 1 which is composed of a plurality ofPlies.

7 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

